NYPD vs. Black Girls On The Subway: We've got to do BETTER!

Apparently, a group of teenage girls hopped the turnstile at a Harlem subway station, and booked it onto an awaiting train. But the NYPD (who’d actually been looking on, and saw everything) boarded the train and removed the young ladies.

Guys, we’ve got to do better.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaX8pdapc-I

Now on one hand, I’m disturbed by any kind of aggression directed at young Black women by grown men. And honestly, I’d probably be a part of that surrounding mob if I’d been present; just seeing them getting manhandled is infuriating to me.

And of course, one has to wonder how a group of young white girls would have been treated in such a situation.

But let’s keep in mind that these girls openly broke a law. And according to the individual who posted the video, the cops intially tried to “talk them out” of the train. When the young ladies refused, force was used, culminating in the shitshow you’ve just witnessed.

Ladies, next time we need to ask ourselves what it is we are fighting about exactly.

$2.25?

Is that worth being charged with assaulting a police officer? Or spending a night, and likely more in jail? Is it worth having a criminal record that will impede your ability to find employment, sap your bank account with legal and court fees, and generally waste your time?

Real work is being done to affect change in our communities; large scale activism is taking hold across the country. Stop wasting time with little bullshit squirmishes on the subway!

What do you think? Were the young ladies out of line here, or was the police response over the top?

Sound off below

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The Black Youth Project is a platform that highlights the voices and ideas of Black millennials. Through knowledge, voice, and action, we work to empower and uplift the lived experiences of young Black Americans today.